Day One – Jerusalem and Bethlehem

Rabbi Danny continues his journey :

Group picture with tour guide in the Christian quarter

Fascinating insights into the different sects within Christianity and how the differences are played out today

Behind is a Christian run school which is funded by the Israeli state yet the syllabus used is from the Palestinian authority.
Christian as well as Muslim children attend.
A school in the heart of Jerusalem symbolising the complexity of this region.

Leaving the old city is a Sefardi barmitzva procession passing by.
Jerusalem is brimming with life, spirituality and connection – Jerusalem is the beating heart of the Jewish soul to which we all turn in our Teffilah yearning for true redemption – has redemption not begun?

 

At a viewing point where we can see a general overview of the topography of central Israel! To the left the hills going down to the coastal plains of the Mediterranean, in front north to Jerusalem and lathe belt of biblical cities up as far as Shechem, to the right down to the the Dead Sea and the Jordan valley and behind to the Chevron hills.

Monday late afternoon at Neve Daniel in the Gush Etzion block

The views are breathtaking as we listen to Yishai the official spokesman of the Gush Etzion block.

He speaks of the three pillars of being a settler. 1) Torah – fulfilling the biblical destiny to live in the land of the patriarchs and matriarchs living life through the lens of the Torah
2) nationalism – a sense of peoplehood attached to ancestral lands
3) defence and security

As he spoke with pride of the life of a settler bringing up family with Torah values I could not help notice a sense of discomfort in the group that his values and perspectives held no space for “the other”.

I like Yishai. His confidence and unapologetic pride in his identity were infectious yet simultaneously I could not help feel that his perspective (which does not translate politically into a two state solution but rather other alternatives that are hard for the liberal democratic mind to palate )
Had no room for empathy and compassion for the difficulties and suffering of Palestinians.

What about the pillar of “righteous and justice” that the Torah also stands for ?
I asked this. It’s not that Yishai did not also believe in these values but he emphasised the challenges of living in a “tough neighbourhood “.

Above photo of the Shalom Hartman Institute a leading centre of Jewish thought and education, serving Israel and North America.
Our mission is to strengthen Jewish peoplehood, identity, and pluralism; to enhance the Jewish and democratic character of Israel; and to ensure that Judaism is a compelling force for good in the 21st century. Jewish identity – learnt about the two different covenants: the genesis and exodus covenant

Genesis covenant chapter 12 is about Jewish peoplehood as our essential identity. Abraham is told to leave his land, birthplace to follow God to the land “I will show you”
He is promised I return great blessings – land and children.

At this level of identity it is not about how religious or how much we are engaged with God – Abraham connected to Hashem and so all his descendants are blessed.
The exodus covenant in contrast demands fidelity to God and His ways.

This means Judaism is at its core a delicate balance between peoplehood and religious faith and practice.

Photo above – Centre of dignity (Mercaz Karma -first word Hebrew second Arabic)

This communal centre is the only shared safe space for Israelis and Palestinians in the entire West Bank

It lies on the land of a Palestinian farmer not from from Neve Daniel where we were earlier in the day.

It is used by the organisation Roots Shorshim which was founded
8,5 years ago working with Israelies and Palestinians. Of 150 similar organisations this is the only one working in the West Bank.

The organisation seeks to promote and foster Understanding “the others” identify.
As the conflict has persisted for so long there is a tendency to deny the other a sense of identity

Roots believes that In order for a political peace solution to work on the ground it is imperative Israelis and Palestinians learn to understand each other. At the very least to see the others existence.

Rabbi Chanan (pictured above) is a settler who went through a transformation.

He spoke passionately and movingly about the transformation of his thinking beliefs and attitudes.at times we were moved to tears said
He said “Until 8.5 years ago I believed only one story existed in the land, my story.  8.5 years ago two I was doing a tour guide with two Christian evangelical pastors. I took them in my car driving them to see the land following the footsteps the prophets of the bible took.
I also showed them what modern Israel has done to build up the land it’s infrastruture facilitating unprecedented growth and prosperity.
As we were driving I picked up two hitch hikers
One of the pastors said “Chanan you taught us ethics in kindness to strangers “

I responded that “We all pick up hitchhikers and lift them up “

At that moment I experienced an epiphany. I realised I was lying. I pick up every Jew not every person “
The Palestinians are 80 percent of population of West Bank I realised I was spiritually sick
In confession to the pastors I said I would commit to meeting Palestinians”

Rabbi Chanan described the difficulties both externally and internally that he faced in trying to reach out, but eventually it happened.

He said “I realised There is another story in this land, another people For 33 years I had been blind to existence of other people and story. Today there are two truths
To mistake Partial truth for complete truth is close to falsehood This requires me to tell the Palestrina story as well as my own”

He described the humble shared communal space as “Holy ground “ In a sense this place has become a kind of“Mental health clinic “ healing the“ sickness of “the hubris of exclusivity which
Infects you with certainty that only your identity exists to the exclusion of the other”

Israelis and Palestinians that meet here are not trying to convince each other of the justice or right of their position. Instead they focus on listening to each other’s stories and empathising Ona human level

To me this place felt like a person centred therapy centre except working on an inter ethnic/religious level
Where unconditional positive regard, congruency (being genuine) and empathy are the tools for creating Deep human connections .

We then heard from his Palestinian counterpart Noor (sorry no photo) who was equally compelling in his story.

I left uplifted and inspired by the potential for peace on the human to human face to face level.

We have arrived in Bethlehem.

Pictured is the Mosque Ummar. We got through the checkpoint by “the wall” quite smoothly although on the other side of the road was a long line of Palestinian traffic of workers commuting into Israel. This is area A and so Israelis are not allowed into Bethlehem. But as always in Israel things are complicated. Timnah, one of the guides, has dual USA Israeli citizenship. She is allowed into Bethlehem using her American passport. I am told I cannot wear any Jewish symbols. So kappel off and baseball cap on and my tzitzit firmly tucked into my shirt. I see Palestinian Police patrolling. A policewoman takes out a mobile phone. I was not sure if she had taken a photo of us for security reasons. The city is very quiet this morning. I take in the architecture and notice how there are many modern buildings.

 

 

Across from the mosque in the previous photo is the Church of The Nativity. As a Jew I am forbidden to enter the church and so a small group of us spend time at a nearby cafe. The guide noticed my plastic bag had some Hebrew on so I am advised to place my bag in the car of our Palestinian Christian tour guide.

A sense of surrealism overcomes me as I realise just how separated Israeli and Palestinian lives have become.

 

 

 

Group photo in courtyard near Nativity church –
And His Eminence Metropolitan Benedictos of Diocaesarea who is the head of the nativity church (Greek orthodox).

He hosted our interfaith meeting which included Pastor Mitri Raheb, Bishop Vendectos and Imam Maher Assaf. The discussion mainly focussed on the difficulties of daily life in The West Bank including the interruption of water supply (due to the Oslo accords agreement not having been updated to reflect the huge increase in population).

The shops and businesses have closed today in Bethlehem and across the West Bank due to the 6 Palestinians killed in Nablus. As a result of the situation we had to change plans and we were unable to go to Rammalah.

Our tour guide described the 6 killed as “martyrs “ and explained how when Israeli soldiers kill anyone then the Palestinians mark a day of mourning. Israeli media reported that the 6 killed were terrorists involved in a bomb making plot.

Later on the bus we passsd a group of Palestinian youths faces wrapped and covered apparently preparing to protest.

Being in the heart of the situation really brought home the divide in perspectives between the two sides.

 

 

One more photo for today !

Bethlehem view of The Wall and Israel on the other side – this part of the wall encloses an IDF military base as well as Rachel’s tomb one of the holy sites.

 

 

 

 

Psalm 121 at the Wall – a special Teffilah for all of our special community